Rating: 5 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈
This story has such amazing energy! And I’m not just talking about that great title.
From the start I fell in love with the plot, characters, and settings for Prancing of a Papillon.
It was effortless to fall so throughly into the lives and relationships of the people here.
From the sad, vulnerable moment we meet Jericho Jones , with his mother’s Cairn terrier, Killer, and , of course, Batshit. He’s on a blind date and it’s awful. Jericho is sweet and gentle and introverted. The exact opposite of what his huge “Exterminator “ exterior projects. That sets up an immediate conflict between what the men he meets assumes he’s going to be and the withdrawing “old maid “ he considers himself. That chasm in expectations leads once more to disaster.
And a broken-hearted harshly rejected Jericho.
Fear not! Because this man and romance has a super Papillon on his side!
Bringing back Bat’s owners from Passions of a Papillon, Finn and Em, our gentle hearted first grade teacher Jericho proceeds to get involved in the wildly entertaining business of the professional dog show world. A former Best in Show and Champion in her former life, Bat has been missed on the circuit and who’s better to accompany Bat on her return as her handler then Jericho! But he needs training.
Enter Ichiko the trainer/handler for well known Papillon breeder and downright gorgeous Brees Apollonia., Rodolfo , his Champion Papillon in tow. Soon there’s romance, mystery, suspense, and fabulous dogs prancing their hearts out in show rings to cheers from the crowd. There’s even another wonderful secondary character, Kathy … new owner/handler of Papillon White Trash, to join in on the action..
Prancing of a Papillon! You got that right! If you’ve ever seen Westminster or Crufts Dog Show then you’ve seen this breed. All high energy, enormous butterfly ears at attention, the brightest eyes totally focused on the job and handler. Ah but put them down and let them start around the ring? Magic! Those tiny legs pumping , flying up high, prancing as fancy as anything imaginable, head held like royalty. And barking to let everyone know they are THERE! Always to the huge enjoyment of the people watching. YouTube it.
Tara Lain has captured this perfectly. The flow of communication between dog and handler. The judging and the various owners/ handlers. It’s quite the show and not just in the ring.
In fact everything about this story is just so fine. The characters that pour themselves into your heart ,
(Jericho Jones I truly adore), the many layered plot, the venue. The romance which swung from fragile to sexy to perfection …..woof!
And yes, the humor, bravery, and cheers for Bat and all the dogs involved.
Yes, this turned out to be my favorite after all.
That’s hard in a series I loved this much. Grab them all up and find your own.
A note about that outstanding cover! Yup that’s both Jericho and Brees to perfection. But the best? That Batshit Crazy is accurately pictured as fawn Papillon. That’s the brown and white coloring. Rodolfo is black and white , similar to the dog pictured on the other covers. Just one more reason this is the Best in Show!
Reviewers And Dog Lover/owners note: Like tv series and movies, a book can make a breed so irresistible that it makes people want one for themselves, without exactly checking out if that breed is right for you and your lifestyle.
Tara Lain does a responsible job here in noting aspects of the Papillon breed that make it not for everyone. They are highly energetic and intelligent. They are territorial, and yes bark…..a lot. Alarm barking, hey look what’s passing by, what’s that sound barking. It’s part of the breed and she had her characters mention that repeatedly, albeit fondly and sometimes with exasperation.
They do outstanding as agility dogs because they need an outlet for that intelligence and energy. Don’t confuse this breed with that of a lap dog. Uh no. 😂
Want to explore more ? YouTube Papillon in agility and Papillon dog facts. They are a fantastic breed….for the right people.
Fuzzy Love series.
Passions of a Papillon
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50256127-passions-of-a-papillon
Prancing of a Papillon
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54375499-prancing-of-a-papillon
Perils of a Papillon
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58447165-perils-of-a-papillon
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 